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Air katira
Basil seed and gum drink
Air katira: Kelantan's milky drink of katira gum, basil seeds and dates
Air katira comes out at Kelantan's Ramadan bazaars in Kota Bharu, sold in bags of milky drink full of soft, jelly-like katira gum and speckled basil seeds, often with slivers of date. Katira is tragacanth gum, soaked overnight until it swells into translucent, wobbly crystals; it is believed to cool the body after a day of fasting. Find it at Indian or Middle Eastern grocers as 'gond katira'. Chef's tip: not soaking the katira long enough is the usual mistake; hard centres crunch unpleasantly, so give it at least 8 hours in plenty of water.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- ⅓ oz katira gum (gond katira)soaked overnight in 1 litre water
- 2 tbsp basil seeds (biji selasih)
- 6 datespitted and thinly sliced
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 2 pandan leavesknotted
- 2 ⅛ oz sugar
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ tsp rose essence (optional)
- 10 ½ oz ice cubesto serve
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain ⅓ oz katira gum (gond katira), which should now be soft, swollen and jelly-like all the way through. Pick out any dark bits and break up large lumps with your fingers.
Step 2: Soak 2 tbsp basil seeds (biji selasih) in 100 ml of warm water for 10 minutes, until each seed wears a grey-white jelly coat.
10 minStep 3: Boil 3 ¼ cups water with 2 pandan leaves and 2 ⅛ oz sugar over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the water smells of pandan. Discard the leaves and cool.
5 minStep 4: Stir ¾ cup evaporated milk, 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk and ¼ tsp rose essence into the cooled syrup.
Step 5: Add the katira, basil seeds and 6 dates, chill, and serve over 10 ½ oz ice cubes the same day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 27 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does air katira take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of evaporated milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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